Meaning
to telephone, to call, to make a phone call [with a ‘to’]
- to telephone, call
- to communicate by telephone
In a sentence
Ti telefono dopo cena, va bene?
I'll call you after dinner, okay?
Hai telefonato a tua madre ieri sera?
Did you call your mother last night?
Mi hanno telefonato per darmi la notizia stamattina.
They called me this morning to give me the news.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| telefonare | infinitive |
| telefoniamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| telefono | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| telefonate | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| telefoni | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| telefonano | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| telefona | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| telefonavamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| telefonavo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| telefonavate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| telefonavi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| telefonavano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| telefonava | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| telefonammo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| telefonai | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| telefonaste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| telefonasti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| telefonarono | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| telefonò | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| telefoneremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| telefonerò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| telefonerete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| telefonerai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| telefoneranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| telefonerà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| telefoniamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| telefoni | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| telefoniate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| telefoni | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| telefonino | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| telefoni | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| telefonassimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| telefonassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| telefonaste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| telefonassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| telefonassero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| telefonasse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| telefoneremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| telefonerei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| telefonereste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| telefoneresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| telefonerebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| telefonerebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| telefoniamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| telefonate | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| telefona | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| telefonando | gerund |
| telefonato | past · participle |
Usage notes
- Use telefonare a qualcuno, not *telefonare qualcuno. The person takes a after the verb.
- In everyday speech, chiamare is more common and broader; telefonare specifically emphasizes the phone call.
- It usually takes avere in compound tenses: ho telefonato a Maria.